Zephyrs
by DuckButtFangirl
Summary: The Edo Tensei called people back from the dead. According to the laws of nature, that was a big no-no. Only the child of prophesy can restore the balance. The Shinigami is even willing to help, and he has just the idle souls for the job. Slight Time-Travel, if being sucked into the death God's stomach and spat back out years later counts.
1. Yall

_For the sake of the story…we're going to assume that Naruto never lost control of the Kyuubi during his fight with Pain, and therefore never met his father._

* * *

**Zephyrs**

* * *

"Forgive me, my wife…my son…" the blond haired man whispered. But even if he had shouted it, it wouldn't have been heard over the terrifying sound of the wind as it whipped around him, pulling him back, literally into death's waiting arms.

How ironic…the man thought to himself, that it was the wind who would damn him now. This wind, that he had lived and moved with, that had carried him and danced with him, making him powerful and fast, making him invincible. But now, for the first time in his life, he was fighting against the current, hopelessly struggling against the inevitable vortex of destruction.

But he couldn't help it. All his life, it had been his instinct to flee from death, and now, even though he _knew _this would be the outcome when he chose to sacrifice his son, his precious little boy, he couldn't help but struggle to stay with his family, the two people he was supposed to spend years and years protecting and aiding.

"Kushina…Naruto…" he nearly sobbed, looking over at the baby boy who lay wailing and screaming from pain as his only hours old body adjusted to the mass of evil and chakra now contained in him, and at the woman with long, crimson red hair laid sprawled on the ground where she fell when the Kyuubi's claw had dissolved into her son. Her body was motionless in death.

_No_, not dead…there was still a chance! The chance that she was just unconscious from blood loss and chakra exhaustion. If medics arrived in time…she could still be saved! She could raise their son, and ensure that he not have to bear his burden alone! It was that chance, that slim hope for his precious ones, which kept him from losing his mind.

His sharp blue eyes stared longingly at her form, praying that she be all right. When suddenly, her body began to move. But to his horror, it wasn't that she was awakening, rather the _wind_ was pulling her too.

"NO!" he shouted, twisting around to face the shinigami. "What are you doing! She was not a part of the deal!"

The terrifying face leered above him, ignoring the human as he pulled the two adults towards his waiting stomach.

"STOP!" he screamed, and this time the god of death looked at him with his piercing eyes.

"**I have seen the destruction of this world," **his voice issued, hissing and rasping with likeness of the wind. **"My realm thrown into chaos…your soul belongs to me, Namikaze Minato!"**

"LEAVE THE WOMAN!" he cried, his only concern for his wife who was now moving steadily to the fate he had resigned himself to…for her! For her and the son she had given him, however so briefly. "SHE WAS NOT PART OF THE DEAL!"

**"Your soul is mine! And she is of my domain!"** the unforgiving voice boomed over the clearing.

"No! She isn't dead! Not yet! Not yet! She can be saved! LEAVE HER!" his tears fell freely. This wasn't supposed to happen! She was supposed to stay and care for their son!

**"Child of prophecy…keep the balance! Restore my realm! I bestow upon you quittance!" **the shinigami roared, and the wind picked up, Kushina's body flying suddenly into the mouth of the shinigami.

"KUSHINA!" Minato bellowed, leaping after her, using the wind one last time to aid his speed.

His arms closed around her body as they entered the jaws of death, the screams from his son echoing around his head.

"Forgive me…my wife, my son," he cried silently as he held his love, shielding her from the darkness that swallowed them whole.

_~Yall~_

He could feel the wind blow across his face, gentle as a caress, as if greeting an old friend. But…that was wrong…the wind wasn't his friend, not anymore. It had pulled him and his wife to death, pulled them away from their son, their Naruto.

The breeze was gentle…completely opposite of the harsh gales from before. But it was chilling, and he felt something held close to his body shiver.

His eyes snapped open, and his vision was assaulted with a dominating red. He was lying, sprawled out in the tall grass, trees surrounding the gaping clearing. In his arms was a sleeping woman, her long red hair spilling around them both.

He felt confusion sweep over him. Was this the shinigami's stomach? He tried to sit up, but stopped when a sharp sting shot through his body, causing him to hiss in pain.

So then…he wasn't dead? After all, there was no pain in death, was there?

He tried to move again, sitting up slower this time. He held the woman carefully, trying not to jolt her. He could feel the gaping wound in his stomach, and he knew that he needed medical attention.

Looking down at the still figure in his lap, he recognized his love. The crimson of her hair was not the only red that stained her body, and he felt his heart sink when he saw the blood that coated her.

"MEDIC!" he yelled, not caring if it were friend or foe that heard him. All that mattered was that Kushina was bleeding…dying, and she needed help much more than he did. "HELP! MEDIC!"

He began moving his hands over her wounds, trying to seal them up with the meager chakra he still had, but he didn't have enough after the sealing to do anything. His hand merely glowed green for a moment, before the light flickered out, his chakra spent.

"MEDIC!" he cried again, and he began to move to his feet, stumbling as he held his precious cargo close to his chest.

Suddenly, a figure dressed in orange burst through the trees, yellow eyes landing on the struggling man. Minato felt relief shoot through his system when he saw the Konoha headband around the young man's head.

"Hold on!" the boy shouted, as he ran to them, making the hand sings for shadow clones. "Go get Sakura!" he ordered one as he took Kushina from his trembling arms, and the other moved to pull Minato onto his back. The clone nodded, instantly speeding off in the blink of an eye.

"Don't worry, I'm friends with the best medic in Konoha! We'll get you two patched up in no time!" the boy's clone said to him as it locked it's arms under Minato's knees, starting after the original as he moved swiftly with Kushina.

"M-My son!" Minato pleaded with the boy, remembering the baby with a jolt. "Please! My wife just gave birth…he's here, somewhere!"

The boy seemed surprised. "Don't worry, boss'll find him! But I have to get you two to the hospital!" he tried to sway Minato's worries.

The boy was running, careful not to jerk the injured man on his back around, and Minato could see the original boy doing the same with his wife up ahead.

The village gates were up ahead, and Minato stared at them in shock.

Hadn't the Kyuubi's tails crushed them?

They ran straight past the bewildered guards, and Minato nearly fainted at what he saw.

The entire village looked different. Buildings were being built all over, and it looked like the entire plain had been leveled. Shinobi and civilians alike were working on construction, and women and children were darting in and out of tents like they were makeshift houses.

"Can you tell me what happened?" the boy's clone said to him, not even slowing down at the sight.

Minato couldn't speak. He suddenly had the very bad feeling that something big had happened. How was he even here? _Alive?_ The shinigami had just taken his soul…his and Kushina's. He should be inside the death god's stomach, and yet here he was in _Konoha_, but not the Konoha he recognized.

Something had gone wrong when the death god took him…but he couldn't figure out what.

He didn't answer the boy's question. Minato doubted the teen even knew who he was. But he couldn't find it in him to care very much at the moment. He just kept picturing the two people he cared most about. "Please," he managed to choke out. "Save my wife…save my son!"

The boy sensed his confusion and fear, and let the subject drop. There would be time to answer questions later, but first he had to save these two people.

The original boy carrying his dying wife slipped through an opening in a giant tent, and the clone carrying him followed. "Sakura-chan!" the original shouted, drawing the eyes of the few conscious patients around them.

"Over here!" a girl with pink hair rushed forwards, wiping moisture from her hands as she prepared to heal the wounds on Kushina's stomach. "Lay them down on those mats!"

Minato was gently lain down on a straw mat, and he watched with frantic eyes as the young girl quickly got to work on his wife, cleaning the blood with one hand as the other used chakra to speed up the healing process.

Unable to stand the separation, Minato reached out to grasp the unconscious woman's hand. "Come on," he willed aloud, only barely conscious of doing so. "Come on, Kushina, hold on! You can't leave yet…you can't leave me alone with our son! He needs his mother! Please Kushina…" he knew he was nearly crying again, but he couldn't find it in himself to care, even if he was the Hokage.

"Naruto, drop your sage mode, you'll make the Shinobi in here restless!" the pink haired girl said, making Minato's eyes snap up at the sound of his son's name.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! I forgot I was using it!" the voice of the boy answered the girl, and Minato froze.

His heart felt like it had stopped beating. Minato turned wide disbelieving eyes at the blond teenager. That girl…she hadn't called him what he thought she had!

"Who are these people? What happened to them?"

"I'm not sure," the boy said, and Minato noticed that his eyes were no longer yellow, but a sickeningly familiar blue. "She was unconscious when I found them, and he was in too much shock to answer any questions."

Minato was trembling now. Because those eyes were the exact shape of his wife's eyes. And the color…they were the same blue he saw every time he looked in the mirror.

"Can you go get Shizune? This woman has post delivery trauma, and I've never treated anything like it before."

"I can't, Sakura-chan," the boy scratched at the back of his hair, the same gesture Kushina made when she was scared or nervous. The blond spikes were the same color and texture as his own. "I've got to go find this man's son! He was just born, but I couldn't sense him when I picked these two up. I sent a few clones to look, but they haven't spotted anything, he's probably still out there!"

The two teenagers didn't notice as Minato slowly pushed himself off the ground, his eyes trained on the blond's face. This boy…this teenager…had three whisker-like lines running across each cheek.

"I'm going to go help my clones, but I'll send one to look for her!"

The same markings he had seen on his only hours old son.

The boy finally noticed Minato as he stumbled forwards towards him, his eyes full of disbelief and sorrow. "Eh! Sir you really should lay down until Sakura-chan can heal you! You've got a massive hole in your-"

"Naruto?" the name came out as a whisper. Fearful, almost. The boy looked at him confusion written across his own features now.

"Uh, yeah, that's me, 'ttebayo," he said carefully.

Minato stared; he couldn't help it. He could see he was alarming the boy, but he was searching, trying to disprove with his mind what his heart was telling him.

Suddenly Minato reached forwards, grabbing the teen's shirt and lifting up before the shorter blond could stop him. As soon as the skin of his stomach was exposed, a familiar seal materialized, almost haunting him.

The Shiki Fuuin.

His hand was knocked quickly away, and the boy…_Naruto_, pulled his shirt down. "Just what do you think you're…" the boy's angry yell died in his throat as tears fell from the man's brilliantly blue eyes.

"Naruto…" Minato whispered, trying desperately to wrap his exhausted mind around what the facts were saying.

This boy was Naruto. The same little baby he had held in his arms only hours previously. The same child he'd sacrificed for the village. This was _his son._

Unable to control himself, Minato practically fell on the shorter boy, his arms engulfing the startled teenager in a crushing embrace.

"Forgive me!" he cried, and he felt his son stiffen underneath him. "I failed…I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, my Naruto! My little boy!" His words were rendered incoherent, too lost in his grief and guilt to make them understandable.

His knees gave way, unable to support him any longer, and he could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. His vision went dark as he fell to the floor, and the last thing he saw was his son, nearly a man, staring at him with wide and disbelieving eyes.

And despite the soul tearing feeling of knowing that he'd failed his only son, for well over a decade, Minato felt the slightest sense of peace in his heart.

Because Naruto was _alive_.

* * *

_**So this has been crowding up my laptop for a while. This is the first 2,500 words of 10,000 so far, and since writing a lot is kind of hard for me right now, I'll update this every now and again when I can't get my other stories updated!**_

_**To everyone who's wished me better, thank you so much! I appreciate your concern :) **_

_**anways I know this is probably a well used idea, but I'd still love to hear what you think! Leave me a review and tell my what you thought and what you'd like to see! thanks so much :)**_

_**~Ducky**_


	2. Viento

_Wow, thanks everyone so much for the giant response to my first chapter! deff unexpected. I decided to go ahead and upload another section I already have written in thanks! So thank you everyone!_

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**Zephrys**

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_~Viento~_

Since Pein's attack on the village, Naruto had become obsessed with becoming stronger. Yes, he'd managed to save every person, but the village itself had been completely obliterated. Even after Nagato had agreed to bring all the dead back to life, some were in critical condition, like Hinata and Tsunade, and it was impossible to tell if they would make it or not.

The village was trying to cope. With all the buildings gone, rebuilding the wall had been a top priority. Naruto himself had made as many bunshin as he could manage to help speed along the process of rebuilding a sense of safety and home for the villagers. Now that it was finished, the task of building new homes and businesses distracted the minds of the people from worrying about the standing threat to their village.

Naruto however had too many things on his mind. The village had been attacked by Akatsuki, the organization after the bijuu. Konoha had been targeted because of him, and because he hadn't been there to defend them, everything was lost. Next time, he might not be able to reason with the villain. Next time, he may have to rely solely on his strength to save the people he loved.

That was why he trained. Everyday. Outside of the new village walls, where he wouldn't accidently cause damage, and where he could keep a vigil eye out for another attack.

He was training using his sage mode when it happened. His eyes yellow and orange from the natural chakra flowing through his body, he slowly practiced forming a rasen shuriken in his hand. Spinning blades whirled around him, but as he began to throw it, a huge surge of chakra burst out of nowhere, causing him to stumble and drop the technique.

"What the…" the jinchuuriki stared off in the direction it had come from, some 300 feet behind him.

He began to sneak forwards, moving swiftly and silently towards the disturbance.

"MEDIC!" a voice screamed out suddenly. Naruto froze in his tracks. Had someone been attacked? "HELP! MEDIC!"

Abandoning his stealth, Naruto began to race towards the frantic voice, his heart beating. Was the Akatsuki back? Had they launched another attack already? "MEDIC!" came the strangled cry once again, closer this time.

With a leap, he broke through the tree line, his eyes sweeping the area for signs of a threat. But instead, they landed on two figures in the middle of a giant, grassy clearing.

A man was standing there, struggling to stand with a woman in his arms. They were both covered in dirt and blood, and bruises and cuts seemed to mar every inch of skin. Blood was caked in their hair, and Naruto could barely make out the yellow color of the man's because of the grime. The woman's extremely long hair blended almost too well with the blood still pouring from wounds on her stomach, and it stuck to her body in a sickening way. Just by looking, he could tell they were in bad condition.

Naruto didn't stop as he ran forwards, unconsciously making clones to help him. "Go get Sakura!" he ordered the first clone as he took the bloodied woman from the man, who looked like he was about to collapse as well. The clone nodded in affirmation and flickered away.

He didn't wait for his clone as it pulled the shaken man onto his back. He took off at once, not daring to go his full speed incase he aggravated the woman's wounds further, but moving as fast and as smooth as he possibly could back towards the village walls.

He could feel his clone shortly behind him, and he knew it would ask the man for information. He spared a glance down at the woman, and felt his stomach churn. A sizable hole in her stomach was bubbling blood, and her muscles resembled ground meat with the edges burned. But that didn't seem to be the only thing wrong. Blood was steadily seeping down her legs from underneath the tattered and torn green dress that she wore, and Naruto felt his heart sink.

He sped up, seeing the village gates in the distance. Without pausing to wait for the guards to grant him access, he sped through, ignoring the shocked and horrified faces of the guards as he leapt past him, a nearly dead woman in his arms, and his clone carrying a man in similar condition nor far behind.

He could see the medical tent up ahead, and ran to it, bursting through the opening, his clone coming not even a second after he did. "Over here!" an alert voice called, and he saw his pink haired teammate coming forwards, moving expertly around the dozens of patients being treated on the floor.

"Lay them down on those mats!" Sakura instructed him, and he did so quickly, setting the woman down as gently as possible. He felt his clone dispel after setting down the man, and nearly gasped aloud when he got the memories from the clone's questions.

That woman had just given birth? Out there in the woods? It only confused him further, and he shook his head. At least that explained the other source of blood. Quickly he recalled a few clones. They left instantly, without his verbal instruction, and he watched after them with worried eyes as they shunshined away, back to the field to search for the missing child.

The man on the mat looked at his wife with desperate eyes as Sakura began to heal her wounds, and he reached out to take the unconscious woman's hand in his. "Come on…Come on Kushina, hold on!" he whispered, his hand stroking hers. "You can't leave yet…you can't leave me alone with our son! He needs his mother! Please Kushina…" he begged, and Naruto watched the exchange with sad eyes. For the sake of their son, he prayed that his friend could save them both.

"Naruto, drop your sage mode, you'll make the Shinobi in here restless!" Sakura scolded him suddenly, her brow furrowed with concentration as she worked on healing the woman.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! I forgot I was using it!" he said sheepishly, dispelling the chakra. With the feeling of wind, the chakra dispersed, and he instantly felt the subtle unease of the other patients hidden behind crude curtains vanish.

"Who are these people? What happened to them?" Sakura questioned, and he knew she was anxious of another attack like he was.

"I'm not sure," he answered her. "She was unconscious when I found them, and he was in too much shock to answer any questions."

Sakura's eyes softened, but she didn't take them off her task. "Can you go get Shizune? This woman has post delivery trauma, and I've never treated anything like it before."

"I can't, Sakura-chan. I've got to go find this man's son! He was just born, but I couldn't sense him when I picked these two up. I sent a few clones to look, but they haven't spotted anything, he's probably still out there!" he said, feeling antsy at the very thought. How long had a newborn baby been out there alone? "I'm going to go help my clones, but I'll send one to look for her!"

A sudden movement distracted him, and he turned to see that the man had gotten up. "Eh! Sir, you really should lay down until Sakura-chan can heal you! You've got a massive hole in your-"

"Naruto?" the man's voice came out as a rasp, and his eyes were alarmed, moving over him as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Uh, yeah, that's me, 'ttebayo," Naruto said warily. Was this man uncomfortable because he had the Kyuubi inside him? He'd thought that most of the villagers had come to accept him, but he guessed he shouldn't have expected everything to just change so quickly.

The man simply stood there, his bright blue and weary eyes traveling over every inch of him, making Naruto feel extremely uncomfortable. Was this man going to yell at him or not? If he was going to demand that the vessel leave the presence of his wife, he wanted him to do it now, and get it over with.

Suddenly the man lunged forwards, grabbing the material of his black t-shirt and pulling it upwards. A surge of heat shot through his stomach, and he didn't have to look to know that his seal had appeared on his skin.

He pushed the man's hands away as quickly as they had come, feeling anger bubble up inside him. He never showed his seal to anyone!

"Just what do you think you're…" Naruto began to shout furiously at the man, but all words failed him when blue eyes captured him.

"Naruto…" the man whispered, and his eyes held such and intense sorrow, full of guilt and regret, mixing with the tears that spilled from his eyes, that Naruto found the power of speech gone from him. Almost as if it'd been sucked right out.

And then the man fell on him, wrapping his arms around the completely startled boy. "Forgive me!" the man pleaded with a sob, his grip tightening on the boy as if afraid to let go. "I failed…I'm so sorry!" he continued to grieve into Naruto's tensed shoulder. "I'm sorry, my Naruto! My little boy!" his voice was becoming ever more hysterical, and Naruto was in such shock that he didn't know what to do.

This man—a complete stranger—was _hugging_ him, weeping tears of pure anguish into his now tear stained clothing. The gesture was so foreign and unexpected, that he couldn't make himself break the contact, no matter how much he wanted to get _away._

After what felt like an eternity, though in reality it was only a few seconds, the death like grip holding him suddenly loosened, and the man fell to the ground with a thump, unconscious.

Naruto didn't move. He stood in the same exact spot where the man had released him, trembling slightly as an unknown feeling coursed through him.

What on earth had just happened?

"N-Naruto? Are you alright?" Sakura's voice brought him back to reality, and he turned to face her, still on her knees at the red headed woman's side, her eyes perfectly mimicking the fear and confusion he felt inside.

"I'm fine…" he mumbled, looking down at the man where he lay, crumpled on the ground. He figured he should move him into a position where his wounds wouldn't worsen, but Naruto suddenly felt very wary of this man—an almost child-like fear to not touch him.

"Do…do you know him, or something?" Sakura said shakily, and Naruto shook his head slowly, unable to tear his eyes away from the tear stained face.

"I've never seen him before in my life," he said softly.

What could have prompted that bizarre behavior? It didn't make any sense…why did this man cause his seal to appear? And why had he broken down like that? His words circled around inside his head, rattling around in a maelstrom of confusion.

"Can you move him back to the mat? His injuries will get infected if he lies on the ground like that," Sakura said carefully, feeling the tense aura in the air.

Naruto nodded slightly at her, still unable to tear his eyes away from the man who lay limp on the ground. He slowly bent down over him before stopping, his hand nearly touching him. Would that same heat surge through him when he touched the man?

A bizarre image of his skin catching fire as the seal holding the Kyuubi at bay burned white hot shot through his mind, but he quickly dispelled the fearful image with a shake of his head. He grasped the man's shoulder firmly, refusing to acknowledge the sigh of relief he let out when nothing weird happened. Carefully, he moved the man back to the side of his slowly healing wife, so that they lay side by side, his anguished face looking so out of place next to her peaceful.

Suddenly he felt his throat close. He took a few steps back, trying to free himself of that suffocating feeling, which unfortunately for him, didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"Naruto! Are you sure you're okay?" she asked worriedly, but Naruto pushed away her concern with a forced smile.

"Yeah…I'd better go get Shizune…and help search for the kid…" Naruto said quickly, backing up to the edge of the tent. "I'll send her in soon, Sakura-chan."

He was gone before Sakura could call her friend back.

* * *

_**thank you everyone for all your reviews! It made me so happy to read them all! I wish I had the time to respond to them all individually, but my doctors are running some pretty heavy tests and they knock me out and make me feel awful, so I don't really have the energy. **_

_**Just to answer a question though, this is happening after Pein's attack. Naruto never lost control of the Kyuubi or met his father in his mind however, which is why he doesn't know who Minato is yet. **_

_**Also this story is very focused on family relationships, its not going to be a whole lot of action. Sure there might be a cannon fight or a spar between characters, but the main focus is on Minato and Kushina's return and their attempts to establish themselves in Naruto's life. **_

_**Thanks for you time again! I really appreciate everyone's kind words, they've been a real lifesaver. Hope this chapter isn't too boring!**_

_**~Ducky**_


	3. Flaiche

_Sorry if this one's short...just a short section I guess_

* * *

**Zephrys**

* * *

_~Flaiche~_

Shizune had been very concerned when one of Naruto's clones came in to the tent where she was tending the lady Hokage. It seemed that a young couple had been attacked outside the gates of Konoha, and her help was needed to save them.

As Shizune rushed to the main medical tent, leaving the most trusted ANBU to guard her mentor, her mind raced faster than her feet. What could have caused an attack so close to the vigilant village without even causing alarm from the Konoha nin keeping guard all around the village borders? Sakura was a skilled medic…and if she couldn't handle the two of them alone, then the injuries must be very severe. How could something that caused so much damage escape the notice of Konoha's best?

Shizune pushed her troubled thoughts from her mind. It wouldn't do to be frantic when someone needed her.

The medical tent was up ahead, and Shizune rushed through the opening, preparing herself for the worst.

However, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Shizune let out a scream, instantly awakening all of the sleeping Shinobi in separate sections of the large tent. All except the two bodies that were laying before her.

It was impossible. Absolutely and completely _impossible_. And yet…

Shizune walked slowly forwards, unaware of Sakura's confused questions and pleas for help as she attended the sleeping woman. The woman with a face she hadn't seen in so long…and hair as fiery red as her temper. And there, lying next to her, his bloodied and bruised face screwed up in unrest, was _him. _But _he_ couldn't be alive, because _he_ was dead! Gone sixteen years ago.

She knew this! It was fact, however tragic it was. But still, she couldn't deny what her eyes saw as she gazed down into the face of the _Yondaime Hokage_, his chest rising and falling with the proof of life, as if he and his wife had just been asleep for all this time.

"Shizune!" Sakura's voice finally cut through to the dark haired woman.

"Sakura…where on earth did you find these people?" Shizune asked, with a hint of fear shining through her forced calm. "Who…who are they?"

"I'm not sure…Naruto found them outside the village walls," Sakura said, pink eyebrows drawing together in concern at her fellow apprentices reaction. "But it won't matter who they are if you don't help me soon! The woman's nearly stable, but I haven't even gotten started on him yet!" Sakura said desperately, jerking her head towards the blond man.

"I'll take over her, you tend to him!" Shizune said, instantly shifting into medic mode as knelt down at the red haired woman's side.

Sakura shifted over to the man, instantly setting to work fixing the hole that pierced through both sides of his belly. Shizune quickly examined the almost identical wound on her patient's stomach, noting with relief that Sakura had already fixed the major damage. However, blood was still slowly seeping from the woman, and not from the obvious hole in her gut.

"She's just given birth," Sakura said, glancing quickly over at Shizune before instantly looking back to her task. "There's some kind of trauma, but I'm not sure what to do!"

Shizune's mind was spinning. She'd known about Kushina's pregnancy with Naruto…_sixteen years ago_, but Sakura was right. She was suffering from severe damage done to her body, indicating unusually high levels of stress from the birthing process and failure to receive the proper rest and medical attention after birth. It was like that dreadful night so long ago had just happened.

"My god…Kushina what on earth happened to you?" Shizune whispered, and Sakura look up in time to see the tears glistening behind dark eyes as Shizune got to work, healing the damage and working on stabilizing her unconscious form.

They worked in silence, both focused on one of the unfortunate patients, and it wasn't until the couple lay peacefully asleep, with no immediate danger, Sakura finally spoke to Shizune.

"You…You spoke that woman's name," Sakura said, her breathing slightly heavy with the amount of chakra spent healing them both. "Do you recognize her?"

Shizune nodded her head, her eyes looking ahead but not truly seeing. "This woman…she looks exactly like someone I used to know. But…she died in he Kyuubi attack, she and her husband, the Yondaime…"

_"What_!" Sakura gasped in astonishment. "But…I never even knew the Yondaime was married!"

"It wasn't common knowledge," Shizune said sadly. "The Yondaime had so many enemies, he just never broadcasted the information. He'd never deny it though…Minato and Kushina were very much in love."

Sakura was scrambling to put these shocking pieces together. "D-Does that mean…is he…?" Sakura trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"This man looks _exactly_ like the Yondaime," Shizune confirmed. "But whether its him or not…" she shook her head, staring at him with uncertainty. Could this really be Namikaze Minato?

Logic was telling her that it wasn't him. Konoha's brilliant young leader had sacrificed himself for the village when she was in her early teens. This had to be some sort of trick…an impersonation, or an imposter. But there was a nagging feeling pulling at crumbling logic in her mind.

Minato sold his soul to seal the Kyuubi to the death God, and Kushina had died after the extraction of the tailed beast.

Though neither of their bodies had ever been found.

But there was blood found…so much blood, no one could have possibly lived with that much blood loss.

Yet here they both lay, _alive and breathing._

"I know who can confirm if its them or not," Shizune said, getting to her feet.

"Who?" Sakura asked, and her eyes were trained on the red haired woman.

"Kakashi."

* * *

_**still sick...been reading the reviews, and they really make me smile, so thank you all for your wonderful words!**_

_**Hope you like this next part, I actually worked on this a little today, so yay for me! **_

_**Im just gonna sleep now, see you!**_

_**~Ducky**_


	4. HawaGwynt

_I should have just tagged this first part on the end of the last one. Anyway its so short I'll give you two for the wait of one. Hope you like it!  
_

* * *

**Zephrys**

* * *

_~Hawa~_

After meeting his father in death before being brought back to life, Kakashi thought that there was nothing else in the world that could surprise him.

Sitting here, cross-legged on the floor, staring into the breathing face on his dead mentor, Kakashi decided he'd been very wrong.

"…The chakra signature's the same," Kakashi said finally, unable to believe his words himself. "It's much weaker than it normally used to be…but there's no mistaking it. It'd be impossible to mimic it after so long. This…is really sensei…"

His pink haired student was white with shock, and he could hear Shizune's soft sniffs as she cried. The silver haired jounin felt like joining the medic nin. A mixture of grief and joy, fear and elation, confusion and concern was swirling around the three, and Kakashi wasn't sure if he should break down in tears or leap for joy.

"What if this is like Orochimaru's jutsu?" Shizune whispered. "Someone could be controlling them. They could be planning to use them against Konoha! Oh, what are we supposed to do!"

"Calm down," Kakashi firmly told the panicking woman, though his mental state was about the same as hers. "We'll just have to wait and see. Until I can talk to them, I won't be able to tell whether or not they're being controlled, or if they're even the same people."

"He was awake when Naruto found them!" Sakura said, making both Shizune and Kakashi look up at her in shock.

"Did he say anything?" Kakashi demanded, his usually indifferent black eye now fierce. "Anything at all? Tell me everything that happened, Sakura!"

"H-He was…well he was in shock," Sakura admitted, stuttering a little under her teachers uncharacteristically intent gaze. "Naruto said he tried asking him questions…but he would only talk about getting help for his wife and finding his son."

At this both Kakashi and Shizune looked stricken, but Sakura hardly noticed as she continued on.

"Naruto had sent clones out to look…I guess in the clearing where he found them outside the walls. I asked him to get Shizune for me, and he was about to leave when _he_ got up," Sakura gestured warily to the unconscious male. "He…he did something weird to Naruto. He…kind of attacked him, pulling up his shirt, and he made something appear on Naruto's skin, a…a seal…or something. Naruto got angry and pushed him away, but he had a sort of breakdown. He started…sobbing, but I couldn't understand most of what he was saying."

"What could you understand?" Kakashi said urgently. "Tell me everything he said!"

"He was apologizing, I think," Sakura frowned in concentration. "He was holding onto Naruto…and he kept calling his name. Sensei, it was like he knew-" the rest of her sentence was lost as all the color drained from her cheeks.

Shizune was practically sobbing now, and Kakashi's eyes looked dead as his former student took a shuddering gasp of realization. "You said…you said that he was the Yondaime!" she said shakily, looking with desperate eyes at the jounin. "Th-That means…he was the one to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto! That's why he recognized his name! But," Sakura seemed to falter, but then her eyes began to grow wide with horror. "His w-wife just…he kept saying…asking for…his son…" Sakura was starting to lose her composure, and a terrible sadness seemed to radiate off the two adult shinobi, confirming without words the truth.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, his voice holding no more life than his eyes. "This is Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Naruto's parents."

_~Gwynt~_

Naruto returned to the village empty handed. He'd searched the clearing for hours, but there was no sign of any sort of human life there, much less a newborn baby who wouldn't have been able to move on its own.

He trudged past the new guards who had recently rotated in from the new shift. He was headed to his temporary quarters, seeing as his his apartment building had been demolished by Pein's jutsu. He supposed he should go back to the medical tent, to report to Sakura and the two new parents that he hadn't been able to find even a trace of their child, but he didn't want to see the look of disappointment and sadness in their eyes. Also, if he was honest with himself, there was something…off, about the blond haired man and his wife that made Naruto wary to be around them.

He supposed he was being paranoid, after all, whatever had caused the man to act that way towards him…he supposed that anyone would be slightly unhinged after a great trauma like the one those two had seemed to suffer.

He tried to push the couple from his mind as he walked, and instead focused on what he was going to do about the missing baby. He guessed it must have been taken somewhere…maybe by an enemy nin or an animal. He needed a way to track the child…maybe be could ask Kiba and Akamaru or Kakashi and his nin dogs to get a hint of the baby's scent from the couple, and sniff him out.

Naruto had just decided to look for either of dog's best friends, when he felt the approach of one such friend, his former sensei.

"Naruto," Kakashi called, catching his attention. There was a serious air around Kakashi that he couldn't quite place, but he disregarded it.

"Kakashi-sensei! I really need your help," Naruto said with a pinch of relief at finding the help he needed so quickly. "There's a baby missing, somewhere outside the walls, I think, but I can't find it anywhere! Can you use Pakkun and the other nin dogs to help me track it down?"

"Never mind about the child," Kakashi waved the issue away instantly. "Naruto I need a vial of your blood."

"Wha-? Kakashi-sensei did you hear what I said?" Naruto asked incredulously. "There's a _newborn baby _lying out there somewhere _alone_! The sun's already going down and if we don't find it soon, it might die!"

"We know where the child is," Kakashi said impatiently, "so don't worry about it. Just give me some of your blood. Please Naruto I'm in a hurry."

"You do?" Naruto asked, completely confused now. "Where is he then? And what do you need with my blood?"

"We need to run a biological scan of the people you found, and we need your blood to do it," Kakashi tried to say calmly, but his anxiousness slipped through.

"That doesn't make any sense," Naruto countered. He may not be the smartest Shinobi ever, but he wasn't stupid. "And you didn't answer my question! How are you sure the kid's okay?"

By this point, Naruto's loud voice had attracted the attention of more than a few curious ears. Kakashi glanced around quickly, and with a sigh decided to move the conversation elsewhere.

"Naruto I'll explain if you follow me," Kakashi said, and Naruto could finally hear the strain in his voice.

Nodding reluctantly, Naruto left the curious spectators behind, following his unusually serious sensei.

Kakashi led him into a tent he knew to be connected to the main tent. Somehow, knowing how close he was to the mysterious couple, Naruto suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "What's going on sensei?" he said, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Naruto…those people, when you brought them in, did you…notice anything…_familiar_, about either of them?" Kakashi said carefully.

The question surprised him. He was fairly certain that he'd never seen them before…then again… "Uh…not really," Naruto said sheepishly. "I thought they must have been traveling to our village when they were attacked."

"But why would anyone want to travel to Konoha now?" Kakashi countered instantly. "Right now, we're about as useful to outside people as a dull kunai."

"Well I don't know," Naruto said exasperatedly. He was quickly tiring of Kakashi's evasive attitude. "Maybe they used to live here and came to help out!"

"Naruto," the silver haired jounin seemed to be stealing himself to speak. "That man…he bears an identical resemblance to Namikaze Minato…the Yondaime Hokage."

The words took a moment to digest. "The…the _Yondaime?_" Naruto gaped.

"Yes," Kakashi said with a defeated look, "and his chakra signature is the same as my old sensei's as well."

Naruto still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had he really found the _Yondaime Hokage_? His hero from childhood, and the one he was determined to pass…the man who had supposedly died after condemning him to a life of isolation and hatred from others.

"Is it…is it really _him_?" Naruto questioned disbelievingly.

"All the evidence points to it," Kakashi answered, not quite meeting Naruto's confused eyes. "We just need your blood, and then we can scan his and we'll know for sure."

"But…that still doesn't make any sense," Naruto said stubbornly. "Why would you need my blood to check his? Can't you check his against his file?"

"All files were lost in the attack," Kakashi said, but Naruto had seen the small twitch of his fingers when he'd heard Naruto's first question.

"But why do you need _my _blood!" Naruto demanded angrily.

"Oh, _hell_, Naruto! Why do you have to be so bull-headed?" Kakashi said in frustration. But Naruto's glare did not diminish. With an angry sigh, Kakashi buried the small visible portion of his face in his hand. "Shit…I never thought I'd be the one to have to tell you this..." he muttered to himself.

"Tell me…what?" Naruto pushed, but suddenly that unexplainable fear was stirring restlessly in his gut.

"Understand this, Naruto," Kakashi said, and in his voice was a plea for Naruto's silence. "Sandaime-sama decided to keep it a secret because of the danger you'd have been put in if the news had spread."

Naruto's hard stare bore into his teacher. There was _another_ secret? Wasn't it enough that there was a giant nine tailed demon fox living in his gut?

"He was going to tell you when he was sure you'd be able to defend yourself," Kakashi continued. "And after he died, Jiraiya said he'd tell you on your sixteen birthday. I guess I assumed Tsunade would tell you after that…but there's no avoiding it now," Kakashi's hand fell away from his face, and he looked up to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Naruto, your father was the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, Namikaze Minato, and your mother was his wife, Uzumaki Kushina."

It felt as though a weight had dropped suddenly into his stomach.

"Th-That's not funny…Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said stiffly. "Don't joke about something like that, saying false things against a Hokage."

"Naruto, I'm not joking," Kakashi said seriously. "Your father…was my mentor. You…you're almost his spitting image. There's no doubt that you're his son."

"That's a lie!" Naruto shouted. "If that were true…that would mean that he sealed the Kyuubi into his own kid! And that's just…just…he just wouldn't do that!"

"The reason he picked you was _because_ you were his son!" Kakashi stressed, and his met Naruto's disbelieving and angry eyes with his pained. "He needed a young child who hadn't had their chakra coils fully developed yet, and who better than his newborn son? Besides…those from the Uzumaki blood line always had exceptional chakra, meaning they were ideal for jinchuuriki's. Naruto, you were the only choice he had."

"That's BULLSHIT," Naruto yelled furiously. "People _hated_ me! No matter where I went or what I did! And I didn't even know the reason! I was completely alone until Iruka started to care…and even then I still had no friends! Everyone still treated me with the same damn contempt! And now…I'm supposed to believe, that my _own father_ was the one to cause that?"

The silence that fell after the end of his rant seemed to bristle with the jinchuuriki's pent up anger. Kakashi didn't know what to say. He'd never really known much about his former mentor's son. With the way he always smiled and carried on, Kakashi realized for the first time that he'd been completely blind to a scorned and neglected child.

"Give me the damn vile," Naruto whispered after a moment, looking away from the jounin.

Wordlessly, Kakashi took a small glass container from the pocket of his jounin vest, and handed it to Naruto. The blond boy took it, biting the tip of his thumb with his sharp canines. He squeezed the appendage until the vile was nearly full with crimson blood, and he capped it.

Shoving the glass vile into the copy nin's hands, Naruto turned on his heal and left the tent without another word.

* * *

**_So now I'm having bouts of time when I can't sleep at all. Really, I'm getting frustrated here. Well wishes are appreciated, and I even got a little bit done on this story today._**

**_For any of you who read my story_**The Loudest Silence _**You can expect an update very soon! even if it is a bit scattered. **_

_**Please wish me better!**_

_**~Ducky**_


	5. Tuuli

_This is my favorite part so far_

* * *

**Zephyrs**

* * *

_~Tuuli~_

He was floating in a current of darkness. It was a gale that was impossible to fight as it batted him around, sweeping him in every direction so that consciousness stayed just out of his reach.

His attempts to struggle went without consequence, and he was helpless to his own state of sleep. But there was something…something important, nagging at the back of his head. He _had_ to wake up. There were people waiting on him…people who needed him.

Konoha. His beloved village. A picture of the entire landscape of the Hidden Village of Leaf, the view was from his house located on top of the Hokage monument, the place reserved for the leader of the village.

Sarutobi. His wise old predecessor. Grey hair that betrayed signs of it's original color of chestnut brown, and dark eyes that twinkled with a knowing air. The beginning of liver spots accompanied lines that counted his age, like the rings of a tree.

Jiraiya. His eccentric teacher. Long white hair that was as wild as his personality, a stark contrast to the tan skin that was painted with red lines, one from each eye.

Kakashi. His only surviving student. One lazy eye peeking out from the blue cloth of his mask and hitai-ate that symbolized the way the youth hid himself away. Hands shoved into pockets more often than not, and to the trained eye loneliness surrounded him like an aura.

Kushina. His wife…the love of his life. Fiery red hair that was a hot as her temper, long and flowing around her petite body, though her strength was not to be underestimated. That wonderful smile that drew every eye, a trickle of crimson that matched her hair escaping the corner of her mouth. Short gasping breaths that were quickly becoming sparse. A small whisper of _"I love you."_

Naruto. His son…his little boy. A tiny body with skin as tan as his. A shock of bright blond on his head, and three whisker-like lines running down each side of his face. His son was so small…he could hold him securely with one hand to his chest. His eyes had yet to open, being far too new to the world to gaze upon it yet. He was such a good baby…he didn't even cry as he was laid out on his back, completely naked and exposed to the cold night air around him. He made not a peep as slick ink was traced carefully over the skin of his stomach, and he kept still as if he knew how important it was for each line to be correct. He slept on as his parent's blood dripped onto his face, and he listened carefully as his mother gave him a lifetimes worth of instructions. That beautiful baby boy…he'd been unable to hold back his screams as a being filled with such hatred was forced to share his tiny body, and oh! How he wanted to hold his son! Hold him close to his chest and protect him from the evil that he himself had forced upon his son.

But something was wrong…the image was changing. No longer lay a helpless babe. A face that had yet to lose the roundness of childhood, but far too old to be that of a newborn. Bright blue eyes clashed brilliantly against his mussed spikes of blond hair, and a smile, a wonderful smile that he knew would draw every eye, was twisting up the three lines that ran across each cheek. And…there was loneliness. A far greater loneliness than he had ever seen before, too deafening and sad for him to even comprehend. He thought…that if he felt that loneliness, he might just die. And yet, there was an air of hope…an impossible, improbable hope that seemed to billow around the young adult, with the power of a maelstrom, and the gentleness of a zephyr.

That young man was the reason he needed to break free. That boy, with his eyes and his smile, his loneliness and his hope, he needed to get to that boy, to help him. He needed to be there for him, because…because that boy was the same as his newborn baby. That boy was his son. That boy was Naruto.

With his determination renewed, Minato gave one last agonizing push, and he finally broke free from the winds of his isolation.

Everything was hurting. He didn't have to look to know that his body was covered in bruises and scratches. The surface underneath him was stiff, and he almost thought he was lying on the ground.

Blue eyes cracked open, and nearly shut again from the painful brightness that was so different from the soothing shade his eyelids provided, but he forced them to stay open.

After a moment, his eyes adjusted, and they landed on a silver haired figure, sitting attentively next to him.

"S-Sakumo-san…" his voice croaked, soft and broken from not being used. The figure did not move, and Minato looked closer at him. "No…" he mused aloud, putting the pieces together in his head. "Not Sakumo…Kakashi-kun?"

"Hello, sensei," the man now identified as his former student came. The deepness of it surprised him, even though he'd been expecting some sort of change.

"Well…you're definitely not fourteen years old anymore," he stated the obvious, if only for his sanity. "How old are you now?" Translation_…how long has it been?_

"I'm nearly thirty one now," Kakashi answered, and Minato knew he'd understood the underlying message.

Minato swallowed thickly, or at least as best as he could with a dry throat. That meant the attack of the Kyuubi happened sixteen years ago. "Kakashi-kun, I must know," he struggled. "Is Kushina alright? Is she alive? Where is my son? Where's…where's Naruto?"

"Kushina-nee is alright," Kakashi said, choosing to answer the first question. "She lost a lot of blood, and her chakra system is pretty wild. She's unconscious still, and Shizune says that she should be out for a few weeks."

Minato allowed a small breath of relief to pass his lips, and his eyes turned to the ceiling he took a moment to thank whatever deity that had protected her. "And…Naruto?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the canvas tent above him.

"He's safe, sensei," Kakashi said slowly. "You wouldn't believe, he looks exactly like you must have at his age."

"I know," Minato said. "I saw him…I saw…" he swallowed his words as his son's face swam before him. He'd practically attacked him when he'd heard the young man's name, and breaking down all over him probably wasn't the ideal introduction. Still, there was a question burning in the back of his mind, a question that he feared to know the answer to, but he knew that he must ask. "Does he hate me?" his voice came at a whisper. "Kakashi…does my son hate me for what I did to him?"

Kakashi's silence was more telling than a thousand words.

Minato felt his heart sink. "I suppose I knew that he would," he uttered, more to himself than to the man sitting next to him. He could feel the burn behind his eyes that had become much too familiar recently, and in his shame he did nothing to stop the small trickle of salty water that ran down the side of his face.

"Sarutobi-sama…decided to keep his heritage a secret," Kakashi confessed, tactfully pretending he didn't notice his mentor's tear. "He didn't want him to be in danger from any of your old enemies who would have gladly taken their revenge out on him."

"So…he doesn't even know?" Minato whispered, his heart breaking even more. "He grew up in someone else's care, without knowing about me at all?"

"Not…entirely," the silver haired man said, and the strain in his voice set off warning bells in the Hokage's mind. "The people of the village…were very scared after the Kyuubi's assault," Kakashi continued, but Minato could hear his hesitance. "And many were…very reluctant…about him."

"How…reluctant?" he asked calmly, though he could already feel the early signs of anger stirring deep within him.

Kakashi was looking determinedly at the floor, and after a moment the Hatake genius spoke again, choosing his words deliberately. "All the village knew what was contained inside him…despite the laws Sandaime-sama placed in order to keep the information a secret. They were forbidden to tell the younger generations, in hope that his peers wouldn't judge him for it. However, that law didn't stop the…the poor treatment."

Minato's fist clenched by his side, trembling slightly with the effort it took to keep his emotions in check. "Who cared for him?" he demanded, and he knew his voice sounded harsh to his old student, but at the thought of the mistreatment of his son, he couldn't find himself to care very much at all. "Who raised him? Taught him?" '_Loved him?'_ he added silently.

"There were so many killed in the Kyuubi attack, that much of the villages funds went to constructing and renovating orphanages," Kakashi said softly, not allowing himself to flinch at the anger of his former mentor. "Naruto lived with the other children in the orphanage…until he turned five. Then the Sandaime decided it was best for him to have an apartment of his own."

"On his _own_?" Minato asked, horrified at the thought. "Why would he place a child of five years old alone?"

"It was the same time that he was entered to the academy. And…from what the Sandaime told me, the matrons at the orphanage…no longer wished to harbor the…demon child." Kakashi finished, knowing that the anger was soon coming.

"The…_demon child_?" Minato repeated furiously under his breath. "Is that what the people I sacrificed my family for think of my son?" Terrible anger was rolling off the blond haired man in waves. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, that an orphanage would kick out a child…_his _child, because he had been sacrificed to save their lives. And he got the feeling that his old student wasn't telling him everything.

"Where was Jiraiya?" Minato questioned. "He…he was Naruto's godfather! Where was he? Where was the Sandaime? Where were…" his rant died in his throat, but the unasked question glared heatedly at both men in the uncomfortable silence.

"Jiraiya…had his spy network," Kakashi said softly. "He couldn't run it from inside the village, and Sandaime-sama and Jiraiya both knew it wouldn't be safe for him outside the village. Sandaime-sama took up role of Hokage again, but he visited Naruto frequently, to check up on him." For a moment, Kakashi fell silent, and he felt like a child again, confessing to his mistakes. "And I…I was in the ANBU, you remember," he murmured. "I took as many missions as were available to me…many times I volunteered to be part of his guard, but I never…I never got too close," he finished ashamedly, and instantly Minato understood.

"I don't…blame you," Minato said tiredly. And how could he? Kakashi was still a child himself, fourteen years old, and yet he'd seen more than most men ever would. After the loss of father…of Obito and Rin, he'd been there to witness each blow on the Hatake prodigy. Of course the loss of his mentor so soon after the deaths of his teammates would have affected him. It was only another guilty weight dropped upon his heavy heart. "I'm sorry…for everything, Kakashi-kun," he whispered. The silver haired man looked up from the ground, and his single cool grey eye found him.

It struck Minato how old Kakashi really was now. Already thirty…his student had lived longer than he, and yet Minato could still only see the young lonely boy he had guided for so long.

"I don't blame Jiraiya either," Minato admitted aloud. "Nor Sarutobi. I won't pin the guilt of my actions on them."

"Minato-sensei, you did the only thing that you could," Kakashi argued instantly. "The village was crumbling, and there was only one way to save Konoha."

"I sold my soul to the god of death, and sacrificed my only son to a demon," Minato said harshly. "Please don't defend me against my own actions, Kakashi-kun," he said with a defeated finality.

For a moment, they sat there, Minato taking shallow breaths that didn't aggravate his sore wounds, and Kakashi lost in his wonderings.

"Minato-sensei…can you tell me how you are here?" Kakashi finally breached the silence.

"…I was actually hoping you could tell me the same thing," Minato confessed wearily.

"That is a problem," Kakashi said humorlessly. "You may not have noticed, but the village is under a bit of a crisis. Can you tell me everything you remember happening?"

"I suppose it can't wait? Can it?" the injured man stated more than asked, and Kakashi shook his head in an apologetic no.

Minato took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut against the canvas ceiling of the medical tent, and began to recount the events of October 10th, sixteen years previously.

* * *

**_Again, thank you all so much for your kind words. I know I've been updating this fic fast, but I'm coming down to an end of what's already been written. Like I've said before, I'm really sick. _**

**_My doctors think I might have liver cancer, or at least that's what they told me this morning. That kind of makes it hard for me to focus on stuff like this, so updates may be kind of slow starting very soon. But I love to write this kind of thing, so I won't quit, believe it!_**

**_Thanks for reading, hope you don't mind waiting too much!_**

**_~Ducky_**


	6. Pavana

_sorry this is the last one for a little bit._

* * *

**Zephyrs**

* * *

_~Pavana~_

"I'd just summoned the shinigami," Minato began slowly, his eyes not looking at his former student. "The seal had been made, and the Kyuubi was contained within Naruto. Kushina had fallen, Naruto was screaming…and I was being pulled into the death god's stomach."

He swallowed as he recounted with perfect clarity the terror he'd felt, only a day before…or was it sixteen years? Throughout all his years of training, of fighting, of war, and of death, he'd never been truly _frightened_ as he had been that night…so many years back…so fresh in his mind.

"I was afraid…" he forced, his voice coming at a half whisper, and saying it aloud, confessing it brought the reality of it all to him, as if the final traces of a dream were finally lifted. He could feel his limbs trembling, and his heart still beat fiercely, as if it feared it had not much longer to do so. "No…no I was terrified," he corrected, and his hand clenched in a fist in attempt to stop its shaking.

"I struggled…I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to leave them…I didn't want to leave my wife and my son. I wanted to be there for them, even though I knew that I was already dead. I wanted to see someone arrive to help them, to fix Kushina and take her and my son to safety together…I needed to see that they would be safe. I kept telling myself that she would live…" his voice cracked as the fear engulfed him again. "It was the only thing I could do to keep from losing my mind.

"But then…the death god…the shinigami, it began to pull her in as well. It was dragging the both of us towards it, and I couldn't do anything about it. But she wasn't part of the deal! It was _my_ soul for his power, not Kushina's!" words were pouring from his mouth, and he could feel himself slipping into hysteria. He forced his mouth shut and forced himself to breath deeply, and though the immediate panic faded, his heart still beat fiercely against his aching and fractured ribs.

"So that's why neither of your bodies was found…" Kakashi murmured, more to himself than his old sensei. "But why would the shinigami take the both of you when the price was one soul?"

"I asked the same thing," Minato answered quietly. "He…the shinigami, he…spoke to me. He told me that Kushina was…was part of his 'domain'. I suppose that means that she was…dead," his voice broke, and a cough racked through his already aching chest. "He also said…something about, 'the destruction of this world,'" he said confusedly, shifting through his memory. "Chaos in his realm…he said…he said, 'Child of prophesy'…'restore my realm'…'I give you…quittance?'" his eyes screwed shut in concentration. "I don't remember anything else."

"Quittance?" Kakashi repeated slowly. "You mean like payment?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Minato sighed. "I don't remember anything else after that. But…I know that he wasn't speaking to me…"

Kakashi looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean? Wasn't it just the three of you in the clearing?"

"It was," Minato agreed, and Kakashi's bewildered look was lost to him as he thought back to everything that had happened that night. The realization of what was to come returned to him, and again he saw his son, shifting and changing from the baby he'd so recently held in his arms, to the young man who he had become. "The shinigami called him 'child of prophesy,'" Minato murmured to himself, almost completely forgetting that Kakashi was still there. "So it was true…my son is the boy from the Great Toad Sage's prediction."

"Minato-sensei, what are you talking about?" Kakashi broke Minato from his musings.

"There was a prophecy made by the Toad Sage to Jiraiya when he was a young man," Minato explained, his deep blue eyes still distant. "That there was a boy who would bring revolution to the world. I think…no…I _know_ that the prophesy was talking about my son…my Naruto…" his voice was soft, and yet so sure, that Kakashi believed his words to be true.

"Revolution, huh?" he mused to himself. "That certainly sounds like Naruto, alright." Minato felt a surge of pride for his son at his former student's praise, though with it came a renewed pang of sadness at the thought of the boy he couldn't claim to know. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here…and what did the shinigami mean by giving him 'payment'? Payment for what?" Kakashi asked aloud, bringing him back to issue at hand.

Minato only shook his head. He was just as confused as the silver haired nin. Silence fell on the two again. Kakashi still seemed to be thinking, and Minato just felt exhauseted. Besides, he didn't really know what to say to the Hatake. He was sixteen years behind the times, and in all technicality, his former student was now older than he, even though to him a day before Kakashi was still a young teenager. Hell, even his _newborn son_ was now older than the Kakashi he felt he knew.

"Well, there is no doubting it," Kakashi finally said, his single eye finding the yellow flash once again. "You're definitely the real Namikaze Minato. It's a very good thing too," he said tilting his head to the side slightly, taking in the slightly confused look on his former sensei's face. "You see, we find ourselves in need of a Hokage once again."

* * *

_**this is the last chapter for just a little bit. **_

_**It turns out to be that I do have liver cancer after all. The good news is that it's only a small tumor, and we can most likely remove it with surgery after we try a bit of chemotherapy. anyways i don't feel much like writing right now, so I'm sorry that you won't see a chapter most likely for a little while. **_

_**thanks for reading! I'll be back as soon as i can!**_

_**~Ducky  
**_


	7. Gaoth

_Thanks for all your well wishes! So far so good :)_

* * *

**Zephyrs**

* * *

_~Gaoth~_

The edge of the sun was starting to rise over the horizon of the village. The wind that had been sweeping though the village was harsher up on the top of the Hokage Monument, and it swirled in distress around a blond haired boy sitting atop the fourth stone head.

Naruto sat hunched over, his arms on his knees as he gazed down at the ruined landscape of his village. His thoughts were as wild as the currents around him, but he stayed completely still, only his hair moving along with the wind. He was in shock. There wasn't another word for it. His whole life, he had grown up alone, without any parent; an orphan. For as long as he could remember, there had always been that same, burning question inside of him…even after he'd given up asking it. Some part of his mind…the tiny part he'd learned to shove away long ago, it clung to that question he knew would never be answered.

_Who am I?_

He'd given up on the answer when the Sandaime had refused to answer it. He'd given up knowing his origin when he became conscious of the world's seemingly unanimous hatred of him. He'd given up knowing…and part of him thought that he didn't _want_ to know.

And then…all of a sudden, the knowledge was thrust at him, catching him completely off guard. But it was impossible! Completely ridiculous. There was no way that the _Yondaime Hokage_ was - could even _possibly_ be - _his father!_

Naruto's heart leapt into his throat.

He wasn't sure what to feel about the thought. He felt disbelief…excitement…anger…confusion. Was he really the son of his childhood idol? The hero of the village, whose name was spoken with unquestionable respect and deep remorse? But if that were true…then why was he so hated? The son of a Hokage was treated with kindness…not scorn. And why would Konoha's greatest leader willingly choose his own son to sacrifice for a demon out of an entire village? Was he…was he so unwanted? By _his own father?_

His hanging hands clenched tightly in a fist, and his nails pierced the skin of his palm…like the claws of a monster. A small trickle of blood dripped from the puncture, and dripped onto the head of Namikaze Minato...his condemner…his father.

How many times had he escaped to this place as a child? How many times had he sought refuge from angry villagers on this stone? How many nights had he spent here…sleeping in the cold under the stars because he was too afraid of returning to his apartment and the gangs of gennin and chuunin who sometimes waited for the village pariah's return?

How many times had he cried here?

How many times had he spoken to the Yondaime's memory here?

How many times had he wished for a parent's embrace here?

The number was too high to count.

Naruto stood up suddenly. This used to be his place of solace, but now he couldn't stand to be here. The drop of blood smeared underneath his sandal as he turned on his heel to leave, but the appearance of a familiar face caught him off guard.

"Naruto," came Sakura's voice, standing on the cliff side. She had never spoken his name before so softly, and her eyes had never looked at him before with such pity. He knew at once that he_ hated _that look. "I knew I'd find you here," she said as she walked slowly towards him.

"I was just leaving," Naruto said, his voice harsher than it was normally. He made to walk past his teammate, but her hand on his arm stopped him.

For a moment, Sakura seemed to struggle with what to say. "Naruto, I…I know about…about the people you found."

He felt a wave of anger course through him, and he fought to keep from snapping at his friend. "Yeah," he said quickly, forcefully. "It's the Yondaime…just in time to take over for Baa-chan."

Sakura's eyes widened as his falsely cheery tone. "That's not…what I meant," she said hesitantly. "I meant…about finding your parents."

Nartuo's face was hidden from her but his whole posture seized up at the alien word. "Maa…you don't really believe that, do you?" he said, the bitterness in his voice only slightly shining through.

Sakura frowned, confused. "What…"

"The Yondaime wasn't my father," Naruto said, his voice uncharacteristically flat and serious. "I don't have parents…you know that."

The concern in her green eyes grew at his tone. It was true that she'd never known anything about who Naruto's family was before. That Naruto was an orphan was just a known fact back in the academy when they had just been classmates together. Naruto was always in trouble because he was the orphan…because he had no parents to watch him or reprimand him for getting in trouble. After they'd been assigned on team 7 together, the topic of families had never come up, what with Sasuke's murdered clan and Naruto's reputation. Who Naruto's family might have been never occurred to Sakura, because to her, he'd always been the kid living and getting into trouble on his own. She guessed she'd assumed that Naruto knew, and maybe just didn't feel the need to share, much like Sasuke didn't like to speak of his brother. But the way he was he was acting…

Had Naruto never actually known his parentage?

"But you had them at _some_ point," Sakura said, trying without success to look at Naruto's face. "Everyone has a mom and dad, whether they ever knew them or not. Why is it so hard to believe that the Yondaime was…is…your father?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as Sakura could almost feel the dark emotions coming off of the usually bright boy. "It just is," he said flatly. His hands were trembling.

Sakura swallowed thickly, not knowing how she should respond. She knew that Naruto couldn't ignore this. She wouldn't claim to understand what he must be feeling. With both parents still alive, with uncomplicated lives, she had no _idea_ what it would feel like to suddenly be told her parents were alive after never meeting them before. Even so, she knew that she needed to be there for Naruto…and she wanted to help him.

"Is this about…is this because of…the Kyuubi?" the demon's title came out as a forced whisper, as if fearful that just saying the name alone would trigger the jinchuuriki's rage.

Naruto didn't answer her question. Instead, he stayed where he was, completely still except for his slightly shaking hands.

"I don't have parents," he said again after a slight pause. "I've never needed them. I've lived on my own for almost as long as I can remember, and I've always been perfectly fine."

"But they must have existed!" Sakura argued, becoming slightly frustrated at Naruto's refusal to acknowledge what was happening. "At some point there was a man and a woman who created you! Your mother and father! Everyone has biological parents! How else did you think you were made?"

Naruto's temper seemed to snap. "I don't know!" he whipped his head around to face Sakura finally. "No one ever told me a god damn thing! I was always the demon child without any parents to complain to! Every day I had to listen to the whispers about how I wasn't normal…how I wasn't even _human, _because that was the only way I could try to figure out why everyone hat–"

His rant was cut off by his mouth clamping tightly shut. He closed his angry blue eyes as several deep breaths passed through his nose, and now his whole body was trembling along with his hands.

Sakura watched Naruto with an open mouth, and tears began to gather in her wide eyes. "People…people said you weren't…" words couldn't seem to express the outrage and horror his admission had built up inside her. Her disgust grew when she realized that Naruto had been a young child when he'd heard those kind of things. "People whispered those things and…you didn't know who…you just thought that…oh, god. You believed it? You believed you were a demon?"

Naruto's face was looking determinedly down at the ground, but Sakura could see the embarrassed flush on his face, confirming her words without a verbal answer.

"Oh…god, Naruto…how could you _think_ _that_?" Sakura nearly whispered, mortified by this sickening revelation.

For a moment, Naruto didn't speak. In the dim light of the morning sun, he looked like a child who wanted nothing more that to run very far away. When he did answer, his voice was quiet, and yet Sakura heard every word clearly.

"Sarutobi Jii-chan…would never answer me about it. I just kept hearing…and then when I found out about the…the fox, it just…it made sense."

Sakura felt sick to her stomach.

The hand that had caught Naruto as he tried to leave before still rested on the blond boy's arm, fingers now fisted in the material of the black and orange jacket. Suddenly, she couldn't hold back any longer, and tears began to pour down Sakura's face. She pulled Naruto's sleeve towards her, and wrapped her arms around his stiffened shoulders.

Naruto didn't move in her embrace. He remained still and quiet, his muscles tense as Sakura cried into his shoulder. The girl didn't care that Naruto wasn't responding. She just wanted to hold him, make him somehow understand how important he was to her.

After what felt like a very long time, a hand came up finally to rest on Sakura's shoulder. The touch seemed to draw her back to the real world, and she felt ashamed at herself. She was supposed to be the one comforting Naruto, not the other way around.

Sakura released her firm hold her best friend, leaning away far enough to give him space as she angrily brushed the salty tears away from her eyes. "E-even after we were a team together?" she said shakily. "You still thought that you were just…just a body for a demon?"

"I never really thought about it," Naruto's voice was still quiet, barely above a whisper. A complete contrast to its normally loud volume. "I just…didn't want to." Naruto's eyes had a far away look to them as they gazed back out over the village.

"It isn't true," Sakura said, trying to draw the blond's attention back to her. "You're not just a…just a container. You're my teammate! My best friend!"

The only response he gave was a slow nod of his head, but still his eyes seemed glued to the village.

Sakura felt on the verge of tears again. It wasn't fair for Naruto to feel this way! Not after everything he'd done for the village…for her!

"Don't you remember what the Yondaime was like when you brought him in?" Sakura said desperately, continuing on despite the slight spasm of Naruto's shoulder's at the sound of the Hokage's title. "He had an injury that should have been fatal, and yet all he could talk about was helping his wife and his son! And then when he heard your name, he…he realized who you were! He recognized you as his a part of his family, and he acted the way he did because he knew that you were his son! He-"

"Sakura," Naruto's voice finally cut her off. He sounded tired…unsure…defeated. "I'm not…bitter about being the Kyuubi jinchuriki, but," he paused, his eyes closing as he took a shaky breath. "How am I supposed to forget what he did to me?"

Finally, a small piece of Naruto's emotion slipped, and a tear ran out of the corner of his eye, and this time, Sakura had no answers for him.

* * *

**_I really hope Naruto doesn't sound like he's complaining, oh well. I'll read through it again later and maybe change it up. _**

**_oh and this isn't Naru/Saku. Their just friends!_**

**_Treatment's going fine! But my recovery is slow. Thanks for all your encouraging messages! I really appreciate it. And I'm kind of astounded at how popular this story is! Not a day goes by that I don't get an email or two AT LEAST telling me about an alert to this story! I hope it lives up to the expectation ^-^_**

**_Thanks a ton, I'm still working!_**

**_~Ducky_**


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